South Korea’s Yonhap channel said that in the match against the Singapore team in the first match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup Asia group stage, the Korean national team had a gentle 5-0 victory over opponents from Southeast Asia. After the match, coach Jurgen Klinsmann shared that he was especially impressed with the development of Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Lee Kang-in.
Klinsmann especially emphasized the performance of the 22-year-old midfielder in this match, Lee assisted the opening goal at the end of the first half and scored a goal in the second half at the Seoul World Cup Stadium.
He said: “When you play against very strong defensive teams, you need creativity. You need players who can pass the ball in, can penetrate into the 16m50 box and speed up the pace of the game when needed. “Kang-in can play like I said.”
“He got his own goal. Kang-in’s growth over the past 6 months has been a joy for us as a coach.”
Lee Kang-in had 1 goal and 1 assist in the 5-0 win over Singapore.
Klinsmann took over the coaching position at the Korean team in March 2024 and he did not hesitate to use Lee regularly. Previously, Klinsmann’s predecessor, coach Paulo Bento, received backlash from Korean fans for not using the talented midfielder of Paris Saint-Germain.
The German coach continued to say that Lee not only completed his offensive duties well, but he also worked hard on defense: “Lee has become very responsible on the field.”
“We tried to instruct him that it always goes both ways because Luis Enrique at Paris Saint-Germain also did it. This is great for Korean football and the national team needs There is more than one player like him to take the team to a whole new level.”
Jurgen Klinsmann is pleased with Lee Kang-in’s development.
Afterwards, the PSG midfielder shared his thoughts after the Korean team’s head coach complimented him: “In every training session and every match, I try to become a better player. Of course , I’m happy to score goals and create assists but winning for the team is more important. My focus is always on helping the team win, not on my own attack.”
Finally, coach Klinsmann praised the rest of the team for their excellent performance: “We need to be patient in this match. Until you score the first goal, it will be very difficult to face. Against teams like Singapore, they basically come here to defend with two blocks of five defending.”
After this match, coach Klinsmann and his team will have a trip to face the Chinese team in the second match of the 2026 World Cup group stage in Asia on November 21, 2023.
Tuan Tu | 23:18 November 17, 2023
